Before The Guild: William Black Part One
Before The Guild: A story about William Black Ch.1 Some parts of this tale are fiction, and some are fact. Just be aware that this is just a mere tale. William Black was born into an ancient bloodine, a bloodline of hero's. This bloodine had many great heros from even before Black, but they are not a part of this tale. The blood that flowed through his veins pulsed with the strength of a dozen men, the accuracy of a master archer, and the will of the greatest of mages. Black's childhood was very shaky, for his parents had been killed by raiders when he was only seven. He was taken to a nearby camp of gypsies and traders, where he was taken care of by an elderly woman named Lynn. She had heard of hero's of old and had seen few in her long life. She knew Black had something special about him. She saw him play with other children, though he had to stop due to him getting hold of a sling and hitting the others with acorns. Seven years passed in the camp and Black grew from child to adolescent, and Black was growing to be a tall strong man. Lynn had talked to Black about how "Heroic" he seemed to be, and wanted to ask him about his parents. Black was rather quiet about it, but decided it would be best to talk about it. He met with Lynn on the hill by the Tent they lived in. They met at about 2:00 in the afternoon. Black was waiting patiently for Lynn, and she arrived at 2:30. She asked him to talk about his parents. "My mother was a remarkable woman. She was a great archer and had won a local archery contest. She even managed to take out a balverine with one arrow!" Black exclaimed. "Please, tell me about your Father" Lynn replied. "Oh, my Father was incredible. He was the strongest man in the village, yet he also had a fond interest in books and tomes. He sometimes would spend the whole day in the house reading old tomes. He once even locked himself in the house just reading!" Black said. "Great Avo..." Lynn said in a worried voice "What's wrong?" Black replied. "Your Mother and Father were two of the hero's that I had seen during my life. They were remarkable people. I do think you may be-" she was cut off by the sound of a scream in the distance. There was a bandit attack in the progress. "Black! You are a hero! Now hurry, take my sword, and this book! Hurry to the tent, you must go now!" Black nodded with a worried look and hurried to the tent. Inside was a bandit, he snarled "You! Skinny boy! get out of here!". Black had never held a blade or even a weapon before, but it felt natural to hold the blade. He rushed at the bandit and sliced the bandits' right shoulder, making him drop his sword. "Argh, you RUNT! You better hide while you still can!" he growled. He then grabbed a dagger from his side and jumped at Black, and got him on the ground. It was a desperate struggle, but Black had managed to throw him off. He then said "I will let you go, but leave and never returned!". The Bandit said "Make me!" and spat at Black. Reluctantly Black stabbed the bandit in the chest, and said "Sorry, I didn't want to do this.". With the bandit dead Black decided to read the book Lynn gave him. It was a journal. He opened it and it said "Black, I have known you ever since I have grown very close to you. It is almost as if you were my own son. For you I leave my blade, my bow, and my chest. You make take or leave whatever you wish. There is also an artifact in the chest. It is a Seal. It shows the balance between good, neutrality, and evil. There are only 4 of these seals in Albion. Do not lose it. it is important beyond all other things. Goodbye William, Lynn". Black quickly went to the chest to find many potions of different colour and effect. He dug through and found some clothes. He took them, and then he found the Seal. It was about a pound and was about the size of his hand. He picked it up and felt power in it, almost as if it were alive. He then picked up Lynn's Bow. It was made of a wood foreign to Albion, perhaps Samarkland. He then found a book filled with ancient text. Maybe another villager knows what it says. Lynn Ch.2 Now he has the things in the tent and walks out, to his surprisement he sees Lynn fighting off the Leader of the Bandits. She looks over hand yells "Will!" and then she gets hit with the broad side of the Leaders' sword and is knocked onto the ground. He then prepares for the final blow. Black sprints at the Leader screaming "No! Lynn!" and jumps at him, but he's too late. The leader impales Lynn in the gut with the sword the size of a man. Black then swung his sword directly at the Leader, and sliced his throat, and he dropped like a rock. Black dove to Lynn and was in tears, and said "Lynn! Lynn! Are you going to make it?" Lynn was weak, barely saying "No, I... I won't make it..." She reached into her bag and pulled out a vial filled with a blue liquid. Black asked "What is it Lynn?" "It's... It's a potion capable of letting.... Someone be..." "Lynn!" Black shouted "Lynn stay with me!" She was paler than a ghost, and she fell limp. Black was shattered, in tears he shouted somebody to help. Though most of the villagers were hurt, they ran to Lynn and Black. They tried giving her herbs, but nothing helped. She was carried to the tent and was placed in her bed, to rest in peace for one night. The next day she was buried on the hill that she and Black had talked on. Her tombstone said "May Lynn, caregiver of William Black, rest in peace." Black had noticed a Symbol on the bottom of the tombstone. It was similar to the symbol on the Seal. After a week black had set out to find his purpose in Albion.